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Please help settle a bet

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coach2

Programmer
Oct 7, 2002
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My companies web server is protected by a filter from WEBSENSE ENTERPRISES.A co-worker says he can get around the filter at his desk computer without alerting the people who operate the server that there is a breach.Then he says he can go into any website without a trace as long as he deletes from his computer.TRUE OR FALSE.
 
Getting past filters from the inside is not difficult - but most ways are discovereable (just because you haven't been found out doesn't mean you won't be) - even if it is just a curious IT bod.

Deleting traces is a little harder.

Having software that tackles the index.dat files would lead to some serious questions being asked in most organisations - leading in some instances to disciplinary action or even dismissal - depending on the value placed on the organisations security.

Telling people that you are getting around a filter etc. is the first step to getting caught - who can you trust to keep a secret if you couldn't keep it yourself?
 
The INDEX.DAT files that appear in COOKIES, HISTORY.IE5 and C:\WINDOWS\TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES\CONTENT.IE5 can all be deleted with a *.bat file loaded from the AUTOEXEC.BAT before WINDOWS kicks in on boot up.

They will then appear to be complete upon inspection beause they are rebuilt each time WINDOWS is loaded. Typically, the COOKIE index.dat will be 32Kb, HISTORY about the same size and TEMPORARY INTERENET FILES around 64Kb.

This is a give away because if you look at a pc that hasn't had them deleted their size wil be considerably greater.

I cleaned up a machine for a friend on Sunday last. He hadn't deleted anything for eighteen months, and his Index.dat files were enormous (many thousands of Kb).

So to a USER, it might appear that he can beat the system, but he can't really.
Regards
Phil [roll1]
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
 
crustyoldbloke is right in what he says, but if he thinks about it for a moment, maintaining a "Clean" Index.dat file is not an overly difficult thing to do, technically.

As I have already indicated the difficulty is in keeping what you are doing hidden and/or secret - The fact that WEBSENSE ENTERPRISES is mentioned suggests 2 points;
1. that an explicit work around was being requested
2. that someone doesn't think that anyone else from their oraganisation would be browsing this site - overconfidence is a killer.

The answer is false though, because someone knows what they are doing - even if it was themselves that spilled the beans.

Regards.
 
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